When I was a newbie Dead fan back in the 80s I quickly gravitated towards the tape trading scene. When a generous friend asked me what tape I might like to have a copy of from his impressive collection, I asked for 8/17/70 (my birthday show). However he did not have that one.

Then I asked for 8/16/69 Woodstock. "You don't want that one" I was told. "They played lousy at Woodstock". "Jerry kept getting shocks from his guitar." Complaints or no complaints I still wanted that show!!! At first my request was not granted. My friend decided to give me Cornell '77. Apparently all newbie tape collectors were required to have that show.
I listened to about 30 seconds of "Mama Tried" from 5/8/77 before I was ejected the tape. I didn't listen to it again. I still wanted Woodstock!

A few days later my wish was finally granted and I received a Sony cassette with just 3 Woodstock tracks... "Dark Star" "High Time" and "Lovelight ". Dark Star sounded good to me. I loved Jerry's stinging guitar leads. That swirly psychedelic Hammond organ was beautiful! I just couldn't hear any lousy playing at all. High Time was ok. I've never been a fan of the song. Just too slow. However it was a decent version.

Lovelight totally blew me away! Who was that stoned hippie yelling crazy nonsense during the beginning?!! This Lovelight went on forever yet kept my interest the entire way. The last 10 minutes was the grand finale and what an exciting conclusion it was!

I no longer have my original cassette but I will Always remember it as my first Grateful Dead tape

Great show, only thing I can even say.

"the rewards from the Moon Landing keep paying dividends even to today"

Like what? Exactly, none.

"We can repeat the Moon landing"

Oh yeah? We haven't yet and NASA's almost dead. So?

Quit talkin' smack and listen to the music.

`

~^|\_@|@_/|^~
~<->/<->\<->~

The GRATEFUL DEAD at Woodstock 40 years ago today!

July 69', the "Establishment" put the first men on the moon... August 69' the Hippies put on 3 Days of Music & Peace in upstate New York...well, the rewards from the Moon Landing keep paying dividends even to today, and the Woodstock, Music and Peace thing?

Well, Rap replaced Rock...lmao, and the Peace thing still ain't caught on...I never heard NWA sing about peace. I guess when you can put a profit in peace then we'll have it?

Technology became the new religion, not Tim Leary and his "mind expanding drugs"...amazing how many "hippies" that survived Woodstock have a blackberry, i-Phone, i-Pod, and a laptop and don't take LSD anymore.

We can repeat the Moon landing, can the Hippies repeat Woodstock? They tried a few times, Watkins Glen, Atlanta, ALTAMONT...but they were nothing like Woodstock.

This ain't the worst show the DEAD ever did.

I think the fact that Pigpen did a 45 minute version of "Turn On Your Lovelight" is proof he was the only one on stage NOT on LSD that day....lol.

They were there as part of the scene, they were not interested in the exploitation of the Hippies, or the exploitation of the music...they enjoyed themselves, and didn't care about being "shocked" by the ungrounded mics, and all the other cool "crap" that went on at Woodstock.

My favorite performers from Woodstock are Joe Cocker & the Grease Band, The Jefferson Airplane, Santana, The Who, Sly & the Family Stone, Janis Joplin, Canned Heat, Ten years After, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and Jimi Hendrix.

If you're a fan of the GRATEFUL DEAD you're gonna want this show...too.

I was 14 when Woodstock took place, I was too young to go...but I remember all the freaks, weirdo's and hippies carrying on like they were the center of the universe...yeah, of their own world.

My older brother went, he was 18-19, he came back with Mono...missed the start of college that September, wasn't healthy enough to go to school until January. LMAO...freaks.

Woodstock....no food, no water, no toilets, no phones, roads blocked for tens of miles, and lots of rain....and the hippies will tell you it was the BEST THING that ever happened on planet earth...watch the movie now, 40 years later...see if it still gives you that same feelin...

My first rock concert wasn't Woodstock, it was Led Zeppelin at Madison Square Garden September 19, 1970, and I am glad.

I recommend using your EQ during playback of most of the shows on the IA, this one included.

Windows Media Player has a 10 band EQ and SRS WOW effects that enhance the sound.

Here's one way to stream/dowload this show:

The IA recommends users of Windows XP view this web-page with RealPlayer.

RealPlayer is a free media player you can download at www.realplayer.com.

Using RealPlayer to view this webpage, click the VBR M3U link to open the songs in the Playlist.

If your Playlist is not open, open it by clicking the Playlist icon at the lower right hand corner of RealPlayer.

Once the songs are in the Playlist, double click the song to play it, then click the record button at the lower left hand corner of Realplayer to record it.

When the red line reaches the other end click the stop button to download the song. Your song is in the RealPlayer Downloads folder.

Repeat these steps for each song.

OR

you could just hook up a cable from your headphone jack on your computer to your audio inputs on your cassette, VHS, CD, DVD, MP3 recorder and record it in real time...

Eat, Drink, Be Merry and Listen to the GRATEFUL DEAD, or BUST.

Thanks for the LOVE from Woodstock.

PS: Remember to click on the "DeadLists Project" link and get the POSTERS for this show.

This show is legendary for being the worst show the Dead ever did. I even heard Jerry Garcia refer to it as such on late night TV in the early 1980s. I have only sampled a tiny percentage of these tapes, but I have already dug up much worse shows. (Like, for example, their last show in August 1995, sadly.)

It makes an amusingly ironic story that the Dead would play their worst show ever at Woodstock--- but in fact the recording is quite listenable. The "Mama Tried" is actually good. I also enjoyed the spooky radio crosstalk during the incredibly lengthy "Turn On Your Lovelight." Go for the versions like this one with the 48-minute Lovelight rather than the 38-minute edit.

Even the stage banter has a certain charm to it, although I am glad I wasn't a member of the crew who worked on this event.

hahaha. those people aggravated over somebody standing in front of them are too much!

5 stars for the recording.
5 stars for the boys keeping it together as well as they did under the circumstances.
5 stars for being a neat slice of history.
5 stars because i love every note jerry played.

I would give this five stars for the sound quality which is a remarkable upgrade. Though this show lives in infamy in Grateful Dead history I still find it an amusing listening experience. The 2 minute St Stephen opener must hold the record in brevity for a show opener as the wheels fall off on The Grateful Dead in front of half a million people... oh well, win some, lose some.
The Dead manage to limp through Mama Tried only to have the wheels fall off again. A long break ensues and Ken Babbs entertains the crowd and Country Joe warns folks about a bad batch of acid circulating.
The Grateful Dead try to get things on track by playing Dark Star but Dark Star never really takes off so they segue into High Time.
It's time for plan B.
Pigpen tries to come to the rescue with Lovelight, which is filled with troubles. A stoned guy begins regaling the crowd over the PA during Lovelight with his psychedelic ramblings. He finishes telling his vision and Lovelight keeps on going. Next we get the radio transmissions Phil has told about that came out from his bass amp from the helicopters flying overhead. Eventually after over 45 minutes Lovelight wraps up and the show is mercifully over.
I know there are many revisionist Dead Heads who try to say that this gig really isn't that bad. After listening to it yet again I must say yes, it really IS that bad, one of the worst of this era for the band. As they sing in High Time, "Nothings for certain. It can always go wrong."